Lunar New Year celebration commences in MSU

On Feb. 8, KU’s Lunar New Year celebration commenced at 6 p.m. in the MSU with attendees of all different cultural backgrounds. Students, faculty and families celebrated amongst the intricate red decorations, into the night in honor of the year of the monkey.

The event was sponsored by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, Association of Campus Events, the KU Multicultural Center and the MSU advisory board.

Following a Chinese acrobatics show featuring stunts like spinning dishes and paired unicycling to kick off the New Year festivities, other culturally infused activities took place. These activities included Chinese paper cutting, calligraphy, print-making and musical performances. A buffet featuring Asian-style cuisine was also offered to attendees toward the end of the celebration.

The acrobats were invited to KU’s campus all the way from Beijing by ACE. Their performance was an audience favorite. “It’s amazing to see their training and their artistic talent,” said Petritsa Chatzitziva, advisor of ACE.

Many attendees felt a sense of unity in the diverse audience. “I feel like I’m soaked in my culture and also not only me but my friends who are from many different kinds of cultural backgrounds,” said Sue Kong, advisor of CSSA and business professor. Kaitlyn Ford, KU junior, also said “it was really good seeing the different cultures coming together.”

This celebratory event is planned to take place again for the 2017 Lunar New Year. “I hope next year we [apply] for more grants, invite more performance groups and organize it even better [to] give people an even better new year,” said Kong.